Vivint Arena debuts 2,700-panel rooftop solar system

Vivint Solar CEO David Bywater, Shawna Cuan of the Governor's Office of Energy Development, and Deb Henry of Hunt Electric Inc.'s renewable energy division, discuss the new rooftop solar installation at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2016. More than 2,500 solar panels have been installed atop the home of the Utah Jazz, forming one of the largest rooftop solar energy systems among indoor sports venues in the U.S.

SALT LAKE CITY — The Vivint Smart Home Arena now boasts one of the nation's largest rooftop solar systems at an indoor sports arena, with an array of 2,700 panels covering 80,000 square feet.

The panels were showcased Wednesday at a news conference and are enough to provide power to 89 home games for the Utah Jazz. Over their lifetime, they will produce the amount of energy equivalent to 1 million pounds of coal.

The installation of Vivint Solar panels by Hunt Electric makes the indoor professional sports arena one of the first in the country capable of generating its own energy, with an output of 700 kilowatts.

"The top-to-bottom renovation of the arena has begun on the roof with the installation of solar panels, which reflects our desire to implement sustainable practices," said Jim Olson, president of Vivint Smart Home Arena.

"The overall building transformation will incorporate environmental and energy improvements, enhance the experience of our guests and return the arena to a first-class venue," Olson said.

Vivint Solar, a sister company of Vivint Smart Home, has installed more than 575 megawatts of solar energy in 14 states across the country.

Vivint Solar CEO David Bywater said the rooftop array is not only in tandem with the technological overhaul of the arena, but a smart choice in clean energy that will help to offset the Wasatch Front's troubles with wintertime temperature inversions.